Groovy baby: Butterick 4273

Wednesday 14 August 2013
Thanks everyone for your positive and encouraging comments on my entry into the Tessuti Awards. The finalists were announced and sadly I'm not one of them - the ones that were selected are really outstanding and look like they came off a catwalk. I know that my dress is sewn perfectly, but it was very bland compared to the others because I sew what I like to wear, which I guess is the difference between a home sewist and a fashion designer. And let's face it, I didn't exactly spend a long time planning it and working on it did I? But as Vicki pointed out I do have a great dress, winner or not. And Meredith I'll definitely have to organise an occasion to wear this dress, as fancy cocktail parties are not a regular occurrence in my social life these days!

I've been feeling a little burnt out after that frantic bout of sewing, although it was exhilarating at the time and it's good to know if there's ever a sewing emergency I could probably conquer it in a short time! But I needed something simple to recharge, and since Anna has been asking me for a new dress every time I bring something new out of my sewing room it was about time I made her something.  And now she's become even more clever at asking, picking out a pattern using my ipad and putting in specific requests for how she wants it to turn out. So I let her pick out some fabric from the stash and quickly whipped up a dress for her so I can get back to my own sewing.

butterick-4273-paisley-girls-dress

butterick-4273-paisley-girls-dress

She picked out Butterick 4273 (now OOP) which is just a simple a-line dress with embellishment options and this rather loud pink and purple paisley print cotton fabric that has been a long term stash resident, origin long since forgotten (and possibly a vintage fabric given that it's only 90cm wide and the print is very 70s):

butterick-4273-paisley-fabric

I did double and triple check with her that she understood that this wasn't a twirly dress pattern because I didn't want to hear any complaints about it being 'broken' later on, but she told me in a very serious voice that she would wear it on days she didn't feel like twirling. She's getting to be so grown up in her mannerisms now! But it didn't stop her having fun, twirling or not:

butterick-4273-paisley-fabric-darling-harbour-playground

Because the fabric print is so busy I didn't add any embellishments or pockets, and I literally made this in about 90 minutes including cutting out and finishing. So I have no excuses not to make a few more really.

butterick-4273-paisley-fabric

The fabric she picked out is quite a sturdy cotton, but is not really a winter fabric so it needed to be worn over a few layers, but it certainly brightens up a cold winter day don't you think?

41 comments:

  1. What a beautiful child! The dress is pretty too.

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  2. A pretty dress to a lovely girl. Perfect together.

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  3. It looks like she is developing her own fashion sense!

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    1. She sure is, and she's pretty adamant about what she'll wear regardless of whether it's weather appropriate!

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  4. "she would wear it on days she didn't feel like twirling"... That is too cute! The dress is cute too. I love how you can whip out a girl's dress so quickly, it's faster than shopping that's for sure. :)

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    1. I know - and sewing is far more fun than shopping with two kids (which is a special type of hell)

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  5. Oh, she's getting so tall! You do need to whip up about 6 or seven of these dresses, as this one is sure to see hard wear. She obviously loves it, and it is suitable for school or for play. I love that she puts all these bright colors together. The world is too full of grey and beige. We need to see more color.

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    1. I already have two more cut out by demand from the customer! She is tall for her ages, takes after her dad not me though

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  6. Great fabric, perfect for a little lady (and a bigger one too! *^v^*). Your daugther's so cute, she even poses as if she was wearing high heels in the first photo!

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    1. She's always clomping around the house in my heels, so it's a well practiced pose!

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  7. Can't believe you made it so quickly! You would win the sewing bee! Pity for the contest... It's hard I feel and sometimes you don't know how you will be judged.

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    1. Thanks Sylvia - I did enter the competition with low expectations of winning, and I think I'm probably a harsher judge of my sewing than anyone else anyway!

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  8. This is super cute! I love that it's for days when she isn't feeling twirly. It is a super fun bit of color for winter days.

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    1. We all have those days when we're not feeling at our twirly best don't we?

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  9. That dress is very cute. As is Anna. I love her poses! Future fashion model? I also like the layering combo. Brings back memories of when my daughter was little. Just like Anna she was VERY definite about what she wanted to wear and how she was going to style it. Well, when I think about it, she still is at 19. It's just more expensive now. But I still sew for her!

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    1. Well Anna has the temper of a supermodel already so she probably could. I hope she let's me sew for her at 19 (or buys her own clothes!)

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  10. I do like the ballerina type pose in the last photo!

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    1. She hasn't been to any ballet classes but she sure has learned a lot from watching Angelina Ballerina!

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  11. Very lovely dress - gorgeous outfit all together. Anna is beautiful.

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  12. Oh wow. How cute. She really has a sense of her own style.

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    1. I'm sure that's a good thing, except when it's freezing outside and she wants to wear summer clothes!

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  13. Lovely dress for those non twirly days and she is getting so tall!

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    1. I haven't actually seen a non twirly day yet - nothing stops this butterfly from flitting about!

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  14. I love that Anna is checking out patterns etc.. to "show you". Sounds like my girls; 'cept I get e-mails with pintrest pictures.
    One of these days Toby will be saying.... mom; will you make me a_______ fill in the blank! LoL... and so it goes!

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    1. oh I imagine they think those pinned outfits are easy to recreate too! I wonder if Toby will make requests - I thought boys didn't really care about their clothes so much?

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  15. Cute jumper! Has she/you seen the collections at pattern anthology?
    http://patternanthology.com/

    you can see some of these sewn up at...
    http://www.sewastraightline.com/2013/08/too-cool-for-school-pattern-anthologys.html

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    1. I hadn't seen this site before, thanks for the link!

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  16. Shame you didn't make the finals, the competition was stiff! Anna's dress is lovely.

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    1. yes the competition was very stiff - that's my consolation at least

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  17. Cute Girl and dress. I like all the things you have sewn for your two. Wish my two Nietes were still small, though sometimes I can still help out with mending or sewing a Tee or even recently a sweatshirt dress. Anita from Basle

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    1. thanks Anita - I'm making the most of it while she still wants to wear something made by her mum

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  18. Ha ha about the possibility of it being "broken" because it doesn't twirl. I also like her philosophy about wearing it on days she doesn't feel like twirling. Adorable! Anyway it looks great and your pix look great too--it's not like your pix were ever bad, they just seem improved recently?

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    1. Thanks Kyle - I have been doing a photography course and trying to improve my photography so I'm pleased you've noticed!

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  19. A gorgeous girl in a gorgeous dress! I've totally lost my sewing mojo in the last few months but your blog is inspiring me. Today I'm cutting! And by the way, where is that park?? Looks fantastic!

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    1. Glad I'm inspiring you - my mojo comes and goes and I look to other bloggers to get mine back too! The park is in Darling Harbour, part of the childrens playground and waterplay area.

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  20. I don't know how I missed this! The dress is beautiful as is Anna. She's growing up into a wonderful little girl!

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